Lucy Worsley: Mozart's London Odyssey

Lucy Worsley: Mozart's London Odyssey

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0:00:06 > 0:00:09London, 1765.

0:00:13 > 0:00:19A scientist had been granted access to an extraordinary specimen.

0:00:20 > 0:00:24It was said to possess magical abilities

0:00:24 > 0:00:27never before seen in the natural world.

0:00:30 > 0:00:34But this specimen did not belong to the animal kingdom.

0:00:36 > 0:00:39It was in fact a little boy

0:00:39 > 0:00:42by the name of Wolfgang

0:00:42 > 0:00:43Amadeus

0:00:43 > 0:00:45Mozart.

0:00:48 > 0:00:52And he was now to be the subject of a rigorous examination.

0:00:56 > 0:01:01With Wolfgang at the keyboard, the scientist went about his work.

0:01:03 > 0:01:06He scrutinised Wolfgang's technique,

0:01:06 > 0:01:09he dissected his compositions,

0:01:09 > 0:01:12placing the boy on musical trial.

0:01:13 > 0:01:18But what had Mozart done to deserve such an interrogation?

0:01:19 > 0:01:22It was all because of this.

0:01:22 > 0:01:25MUSIC: Symphony No.1 by Mozart

0:01:28 > 0:01:32While in London, and at just eight years of age,

0:01:32 > 0:01:35Mozart had composed this...

0:01:35 > 0:01:38his first ever symphony.

0:01:41 > 0:01:45It was such an extraordinary achievement by such a young boy

0:01:45 > 0:01:48that few people believed that he'd really done it.

0:01:50 > 0:01:52That's just beautiful.

0:01:52 > 0:01:56I can't quite believe that there hasn't been some sort of trick

0:01:56 > 0:02:00or scam here. I just can't believe that he was only eight years old.

0:02:02 > 0:02:06But it was true, and this is the fascinating story of the

0:02:06 > 0:02:12pivotal year that little Mozart and his family spent in London.

0:02:14 > 0:02:18Mozart found it more difficult than he expected when he came to London.

0:02:18 > 0:02:23What began with the thrill of a royal performance ended...

0:02:23 > 0:02:25in an unexpected way.

0:02:27 > 0:02:30But it was here in London

0:02:30 > 0:02:33that Mozart found musical inspiration.

0:02:33 > 0:02:37I think there is a sense that the musical style that he was

0:02:37 > 0:02:40imbibing in London was one that would hold him

0:02:40 > 0:02:43in good stead for the whole of his career.

0:02:44 > 0:02:46And it was here, 250 years ago,

0:02:46 > 0:02:50that Mozart made a musical breakthrough,

0:02:50 > 0:02:54blossoming from a child prodigy performer

0:02:54 > 0:02:57into a powerful new composer.

0:02:57 > 0:03:00His adventures in London changed Mozart's life

0:03:00 > 0:03:04and would change the history of music for ever.

0:03:14 > 0:03:17I'm lucky enough to work at Hampton Court Palace...

0:03:17 > 0:03:19PIANO PLAYS

0:03:19 > 0:03:22..and when our visitors have left the building and the gates have

0:03:22 > 0:03:27been locked, I can often be found playing at the Chapel Royal's piano.

0:03:31 > 0:03:35For me, tickling the ivories with a little bit of Mozart

0:03:35 > 0:03:38is one of life's pleasures.

0:03:38 > 0:03:40But I have to confess that when I was much younger,

0:03:40 > 0:03:44I found Mozart's music a real challenge.

0:03:44 > 0:03:49When I was learning the piano, all I really wanted to play was big,

0:03:49 > 0:03:53gushy, romantic music with lots of pedal, like this.

0:04:01 > 0:04:04But, because my hands were quite small,

0:04:04 > 0:04:07my teacher always made me play Mozart.

0:04:07 > 0:04:11I thought that it was prissy, uptight, little-girl music,

0:04:11 > 0:04:14and because I had to spend so much time with Mozart

0:04:14 > 0:04:16when I wanted to be somewhere else,

0:04:16 > 0:04:18he was my arch nemesis.

0:04:23 > 0:04:26These hands just weren't nimble enough.

0:04:26 > 0:04:29Let's face it, they still aren't, really!

0:04:29 > 0:04:33Though I still haven't mastered Mozart, I've come to appreciate

0:04:33 > 0:04:38his amazing gifts and the great music that he's given to the world.

0:04:39 > 0:04:44And what's astounding is the fact that he was writing completed,

0:04:44 > 0:04:49perfect pieces of music at the age of just eight years old.

0:04:49 > 0:04:53And when he grew up, he fulfilled all expectations - he's given us

0:04:53 > 0:04:57some of the greatest symphonies and concertos

0:04:57 > 0:05:00and just plain tunes that the world's ever known.

0:05:00 > 0:05:03He really was a genius.

0:05:08 > 0:05:10But it was in London that Mozart gave us

0:05:10 > 0:05:14the first signs that he would become a great composer.

0:05:16 > 0:05:17When other eight-year-old boys

0:05:17 > 0:05:20were at home playing with their tin soldiers,

0:05:20 > 0:05:23little Mozart was whisked away to a foreign land where

0:05:23 > 0:05:27he'd compose his very first symphony.

0:05:29 > 0:05:30It's an extraordinary tale,

0:05:30 > 0:05:35and it begins in Mozart's hometown of Salzburg.

0:05:35 > 0:05:39MUSIC: The Magic Flute Overture by Mozart

0:05:49 > 0:05:5418th-century Salzburg was a small but proud principality,

0:05:54 > 0:05:58nestling in the foothills of the Austrian Alps.

0:06:02 > 0:06:06As you make your way along the narrow and winding streets,

0:06:06 > 0:06:10you'll come across a grocer's shop and up above it was

0:06:10 > 0:06:14the rented apartment that was the home of the family Mozart.

0:06:19 > 0:06:23Long before Wolfgang was even a twinkle in his father's eye,

0:06:23 > 0:06:26music was made here both day and night.

0:06:28 > 0:06:31His mother, Anna Maria, could both read and play.

0:06:33 > 0:06:36Their daughter Nannerl was an exceptional keyboard performer.

0:06:38 > 0:06:42And at the helm of family life was Leopold - court musician,

0:06:42 > 0:06:46composer and, above all, master music teacher.

0:06:51 > 0:06:54Now, even if Leopold hadn't been Wolfgang's dad,

0:06:54 > 0:06:57we'd still know his name today,

0:06:57 > 0:06:59because of this venture.

0:06:59 > 0:07:02This is the first edition of a book he published called

0:07:02 > 0:07:05The Violin School.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08Here's Leopold himself, proudly hogging the frontispiece.

0:07:08 > 0:07:12It's a series of tutorials for learning to play the violin.

0:07:12 > 0:07:14And as you work through the exercises,

0:07:14 > 0:07:18Leopold gets tougher and tougher with you.

0:07:18 > 0:07:21But people liked this, the book was a bestseller.

0:07:21 > 0:07:23It made him quite a lot of money.

0:07:23 > 0:07:25And it's lasted.

0:07:25 > 0:07:26If you've studied the violin,

0:07:26 > 0:07:30to this day, it's likely that at one point or another,

0:07:30 > 0:07:35you will have played one of Leopold's difficult exercises.

0:07:39 > 0:07:40With a success like this,

0:07:40 > 0:07:44the Mozart family's life seems to be on a comfortable path.

0:07:46 > 0:07:51But in 1756, the very same year that this book was published,

0:07:51 > 0:07:54their lives would be irrevocably changed.

0:08:01 > 0:08:06It was at eight o'clock on the evening of 27th January that

0:08:06 > 0:08:10Anna Maria gave birth to a very special child.

0:08:14 > 0:08:15He was their seventh,

0:08:15 > 0:08:19but five of his predecessors had died in infancy.

0:08:21 > 0:08:23As devout Catholics,

0:08:23 > 0:08:27the Mozarts had the boy baptised that very same night.

0:08:31 > 0:08:34And the name they chose was Wolfgang Mozart.

0:08:37 > 0:08:40As he grew up surrounded by music,

0:08:40 > 0:08:45he soon began to display extraordinary talents.

0:08:49 > 0:08:53Horst Rieschenbock is a Mozart obsessive and he knows how

0:08:53 > 0:08:58little Wolfgang gave the first indication of his musical genius.

0:08:58 > 0:09:02Horst, can you tell me what's special about this piece of music?

0:09:02 > 0:09:05It is out of the notebook Leopold collected for Nannerl,

0:09:05 > 0:09:08and Wolfgang heard the piece and wanted to play it, too.

0:09:08 > 0:09:13It was surprising for Leopold that this young boy, only four years old,

0:09:13 > 0:09:17was able to learn it - learn to play it in half an hour at night.

0:09:17 > 0:09:19- In half an hour?- Yes.

0:09:19 > 0:09:22- It only took him half an hour to learn this piece?- Exactly.

0:09:22 > 0:09:26Actually to play that. He didn't memorise it, he just played it.

0:09:26 > 0:09:29It was surprising for Leopold.

0:09:29 > 0:09:32So Leopold wrote into the notebook,

0:09:32 > 0:09:38"Wolfgang learnt this piece on January 24th 1761,

0:09:38 > 0:09:43"three days before his fifth year, between 9 and 9.30 in the evening."

0:09:43 > 0:09:46- Impressive.- Yes, it's unbelievable for us.

0:09:46 > 0:09:49What is half an hour for such a piece?

0:09:49 > 0:09:52What do you think it was like for Leopold?

0:09:52 > 0:09:54For Leopold was surprising -

0:09:54 > 0:09:58I think he couldn't understand what Wolfgang actually was.

0:10:00 > 0:10:02Shall we see how a 40-year-old can do it?

0:10:02 > 0:10:05- You're 40 years old?- I am!

0:10:17 > 0:10:22As Leopold watched his son breeze through evermore complex pieces,

0:10:22 > 0:10:27he began to plan an epic journey across Europe.

0:10:27 > 0:10:30Believing his son to be a genuine gift from God,

0:10:30 > 0:10:34he wanted to exhibit Wolfgang's talents to the world.

0:10:35 > 0:10:37And as was common for any 18th-century musician,

0:10:37 > 0:10:42he hoped to secure a lucrative position for Wolfgang at one

0:10:42 > 0:10:45of Europe's wealthy royal courts.

0:10:47 > 0:10:52But travel in the 18th century was no mean feat.

0:10:54 > 0:10:57The Mozart family would have packed up a huge

0:10:57 > 0:11:00amount of luggage for their journey into the unknown.

0:11:01 > 0:11:04As well as their clothes and the letters of introduction,

0:11:04 > 0:11:06a telescope would have been useful

0:11:06 > 0:11:10for spying out the way on strange roads.

0:11:10 > 0:11:13I think I can see a highwayman over there(!)

0:11:13 > 0:11:17They could expect to be paid in all sorts of different currencies,

0:11:17 > 0:11:20and that's where the scales comes in.

0:11:20 > 0:11:25If a dodgy-looking Frenchman gives you a Louis d'or, a golden Louis,

0:11:25 > 0:11:30then you use this particular weight to check that it's a good one

0:11:30 > 0:11:32and that he hasn't short-changed you.

0:11:32 > 0:11:35They could have cured practically any illness,

0:11:35 > 0:11:39I imagine, with this enormous range of drugs in this dinky little case.

0:11:39 > 0:11:41Look at all of them.

0:11:42 > 0:11:44And they also needed home comforts.

0:11:44 > 0:11:48As an English person, I completely approve of this item - it's a

0:11:48 > 0:11:51beautiful case for carrying their sugar and their tea.

0:11:55 > 0:11:57In July 1763,

0:11:57 > 0:12:00Wolfgang, Nannerl, their mother

0:12:00 > 0:12:03and their father Leopold left Salzburg.

0:12:09 > 0:12:13Together, they travelled north through the dense forests of Bavaria

0:12:13 > 0:12:15and out into the lowlands of Europe.

0:12:22 > 0:12:25Munich, Mannheim, Brussels and Paris -

0:12:25 > 0:12:30everywhere they went, Leopold had garnered letters of introduction

0:12:30 > 0:12:32and palace doors were opened to them.

0:12:33 > 0:12:37Kings, queens and aristocrats were amazed at the performances

0:12:37 > 0:12:39that Wolfgang put on.

0:12:40 > 0:12:43But no matter where they went, Leopold would hear

0:12:43 > 0:12:49talk of another place - a musician's paradise with a lucrative

0:12:49 > 0:12:54concert scene that was different to anywhere else in Europe.

0:12:56 > 0:13:01He heard tell of a city where the inhabitants loved foreign musicians

0:13:01 > 0:13:03and showered them with money.

0:13:03 > 0:13:08This was a city of unrivalled musical opportunities.

0:13:08 > 0:13:12Leopold felt he couldn't possibly miss this, so he changed course -

0:13:12 > 0:13:16he took his children across the sea for the first time.

0:13:16 > 0:13:18Their destination was London.

0:13:21 > 0:13:23In the 18th century,

0:13:23 > 0:13:28London was the place to be for any travelling musician.

0:13:32 > 0:13:36The city had grown rich on Britain's burgeoning empire,

0:13:36 > 0:13:40but it was money that made London's music scene unique.

0:13:43 > 0:13:46Elsewhere in Europe, concert life was dominated by the courts,

0:13:46 > 0:13:50but here, a wealthy merchant class had emerged.

0:13:52 > 0:13:54They had become willing and generous

0:13:54 > 0:14:00patrons of music at the forefront of a new fashion for public concerts.

0:14:05 > 0:14:09'Conductor Ian Page understands how London was irresistible

0:14:09 > 0:14:11'to the Mozart family.'

0:14:11 > 0:14:14London had the money. It was the wealthiest,

0:14:14 > 0:14:17the biggest, the most successful city in Europe,

0:14:17 > 0:14:20- and they just bought people in. - The star players?

0:14:20 > 0:14:22Yeah, so they were the leading composers -

0:14:22 > 0:14:25Johann Christian Bach and Abel, two leading German composers,

0:14:25 > 0:14:28were living and working full time in London,

0:14:28 > 0:14:32and the leading figures of the day were all congregating in London.

0:14:32 > 0:14:34You know, they were looking for the best performers,

0:14:34 > 0:14:36the best composers and the best entertainment.

0:14:36 > 0:14:40MUSIC: Aria by Thomas Arne

0:14:54 > 0:14:57In London, little Wolfgang was soon plunged into a new

0:14:57 > 0:15:01musical wonderland, which was to have a profound

0:15:01 > 0:15:03influence on his entire musical life.

0:15:05 > 0:15:08This aria, by the English composer Thomas Arne,

0:15:08 > 0:15:10was one of Mozart's favourites.

0:15:13 > 0:15:16Listen to the pizzicato by the cellos...

0:15:18 > 0:15:21..and the sustained strings accompanying the voice.

0:15:21 > 0:15:25These are motifs that Mozart would play with again and again

0:15:25 > 0:15:28in HIS later operas.

0:15:44 > 0:15:49Barely had the music begun to feed into his prodigious little mind

0:15:49 > 0:15:54when Wolfgang was whisked away to give his first big performance.

0:16:03 > 0:16:06It wasn't to be in London's fabled West End,

0:16:06 > 0:16:08but in yet another royal palace.

0:16:10 > 0:16:13Just five days after arriving, Wolfgang and Nannerl

0:16:13 > 0:16:16were summoned to play before King George III.

0:16:18 > 0:16:23But such a big concert, so early into their stay, was no accident.

0:16:24 > 0:16:27Since leaving Salzburg, Leopold had obsessively

0:16:27 > 0:16:30begged for letters of introduction.

0:16:30 > 0:16:32And one of them, which he'd obtained in Paris,

0:16:32 > 0:16:36landed on the desk of the Groom of the Stool.

0:16:38 > 0:16:42It's a testament to Leopold's networking abilities

0:16:42 > 0:16:45that his letter of introduction was able to penetrate

0:16:45 > 0:16:49so deep into the heart of the palace.

0:16:49 > 0:16:52The Groom of the Stool was one of the top court officers.

0:16:52 > 0:16:54He was intimate with the King.

0:16:54 > 0:16:56In centuries gone past,

0:16:56 > 0:17:01he'd literally attended the King on the close stool.

0:17:01 > 0:17:03Yes, that's his toilet.

0:17:03 > 0:17:06By now, the groom's duties were more ceremonial,

0:17:06 > 0:17:08but he was still influential.

0:17:08 > 0:17:11If you wanted an audience with George III,

0:17:11 > 0:17:15this was the man who had the ear of the King.

0:17:15 > 0:17:18THEY PLAY THE HARPSICHORD

0:17:22 > 0:17:25And the Mozarts now had the ear of the King.

0:17:25 > 0:17:30Together, Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl put on a virtuoso display.

0:17:30 > 0:17:34With four hands perfectly synchronised on the harpsichord,

0:17:34 > 0:17:37they wowed their royal audience.

0:17:40 > 0:17:43So Hannah, this duet, we think this is something pretty

0:17:43 > 0:17:47much like Wolfgang and Nannerl would have played for the King?

0:17:47 > 0:17:51Yes. Certainly while they were in London, they definitely

0:17:51 > 0:17:56played with four hands on the same keyboard and, apparently,

0:17:56 > 0:18:00they were the first people to actually do that in London.

0:18:00 > 0:18:02And how did the evening unfold?

0:18:02 > 0:18:05- By all accounts, they had a pretty good time.- Yes, by all accounts.

0:18:05 > 0:18:07They were there for four hours, from six o'clock

0:18:07 > 0:18:10until ten o'clock in the evening,

0:18:10 > 0:18:15and the King gave Mozart keyboard works for Mozart to play

0:18:15 > 0:18:18prima vista - "at first sight". He accompanied Queen Charlotte

0:18:18 > 0:18:22while she sang an aria, and a flautist for a solo.

0:18:22 > 0:18:25Certainly they went down really well.

0:18:25 > 0:18:30Leopold said they were treated with the most extraordinary kindness

0:18:30 > 0:18:33and they were so friendly that they were able to forget that they

0:18:33 > 0:18:36were the King and Queen of England at all

0:18:36 > 0:18:37and then, a few days later,

0:18:37 > 0:18:40they'd been out for a walk in St James's Park

0:18:40 > 0:18:43and the royal carriage had gone past and the King had

0:18:43 > 0:18:46popped his head out of the window to wave to them and greet them, so...

0:18:46 > 0:18:48It seems that they got on very well.

0:18:52 > 0:18:56Wolfgang must have made his father a very proud parent.

0:18:56 > 0:18:58It was just a shame for Nannerl that girls,

0:18:58 > 0:19:02however skilful they were, made less of an impression.

0:19:05 > 0:19:09And now Leopold dreamt of the rich reward that was

0:19:09 > 0:19:12sure to come his way from the royal purse.

0:19:16 > 0:19:19But he would be a little disappointed.

0:19:21 > 0:19:26George III had the reputation of being rather a frugal king.

0:19:26 > 0:19:28He was parsimonious.

0:19:28 > 0:19:31The press had great fun with this. They were always mocking him

0:19:31 > 0:19:35for it, but to the Mozart family, it wasn't a joke.

0:19:35 > 0:19:39They were really counting on George's generosity.

0:19:41 > 0:19:45And so, when they opened up the purse that he gave them,

0:19:45 > 0:19:47it was a bit disappointing.

0:19:47 > 0:19:50It only contained 24 guineas.

0:19:53 > 0:19:56Compared to what they'd earned on the Continent,

0:19:56 > 0:19:5924 guineas was a paltry sum.

0:19:59 > 0:20:01And certainly not enough for life

0:20:01 > 0:20:04in an expensive city like London.

0:20:05 > 0:20:10From their apartment in Cecil Court in the West End, Leopold

0:20:10 > 0:20:12wrote letters home to his banker,

0:20:12 > 0:20:14Lorenz Hagenauer, in Salzburg.

0:20:20 > 0:20:23What's interesting is that they betray

0:20:23 > 0:20:25Leopold's dawning realisation

0:20:25 > 0:20:29that Georgian London could be a very unforgiving place.

0:20:31 > 0:20:32These letters are fantastic

0:20:32 > 0:20:37because they give a complete picture of London as it was in 1764

0:20:37 > 0:20:42and, as a foreigner, Leopold takes nothing for granted.

0:20:42 > 0:20:44What really strikes you on reading them

0:20:44 > 0:20:49is how full of complaints they are about the cost of living.

0:20:49 > 0:20:52Leopold complains about the tax on wine, the tax on coffee,

0:20:52 > 0:20:56how much money he has to spend to get his laundry done,

0:20:56 > 0:20:58he has to buy hair powder...

0:20:58 > 0:21:01Even a plain bowl of soup

0:21:01 > 0:21:03cost eightpence.

0:21:03 > 0:21:05London was a rip-off.

0:21:05 > 0:21:07Well, some things don't change.

0:21:13 > 0:21:16As his father kept a close eye on the coffers,

0:21:16 > 0:21:20Wolfgang practised hard, hoping for his next performance.

0:21:21 > 0:21:25It gave him a good excuse not to set foot outside.

0:21:26 > 0:21:29For the Mozarts had also discovered

0:21:29 > 0:21:32that London wasn't a very friendly place, either.

0:21:34 > 0:21:38The streets of Georgian London were full of violence.

0:21:38 > 0:21:42Leopold's letters record his amazement at seeing drunken men

0:21:42 > 0:21:45fighting in the gutter.

0:21:45 > 0:21:48William Byron, the so-called Wicked Lord,

0:21:48 > 0:21:50killed a man in a duel in a pub.

0:21:50 > 0:21:55And the family also saw 4,000 silk weavers rioting -

0:21:55 > 0:21:59they were angry about the importing of French textiles.

0:21:59 > 0:22:01Fresh from Paris themselves,

0:22:01 > 0:22:05the Mozarts also experienced this hostility.

0:22:05 > 0:22:08If you were to walk down the street in French fashion,

0:22:08 > 0:22:11as Leopold wrote, all the street urchins would run after you,

0:22:11 > 0:22:15shouting, "Bugger French, French bugger!"

0:22:19 > 0:22:24But leaving the home sometimes was unavoidable, as Wolfgang

0:22:24 > 0:22:26was dragged around to meet wealthy patrons...

0:22:28 > 0:22:32..and all the while being laughed at in the clothes his parents

0:22:32 > 0:22:34had bought for him in Paris.

0:22:36 > 0:22:39Amber Butchart is a fashion historian

0:22:39 > 0:22:42and she knows exactly what little Wolfgang was going through.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48Amber, what were these French clothes that got Mozart

0:22:48 > 0:22:50heckled on the streets of London?

0:22:50 > 0:22:52Well, British and French fashions were very,

0:22:52 > 0:22:54very different at this time.

0:22:54 > 0:22:57The French fashions were incredibly ornate,

0:22:57 > 0:23:00and the embroidery on men's clothing

0:23:00 > 0:23:02could rival or even exceed

0:23:02 > 0:23:05the kind of embroidery that we're seeing on womenswear.

0:23:05 > 0:23:09- You can see spangles...- Sequins. Highly effeminate, if I may say so.

0:23:09 > 0:23:11Highly effeminate, and the British public really viewed these

0:23:11 > 0:23:13fashions as foppish,

0:23:13 > 0:23:16as anti-intellectual,

0:23:16 > 0:23:18as just not manly enough.

0:23:18 > 0:23:21That was one of the big problems that they had with it.

0:23:21 > 0:23:23We know from Leopold's letters that he laid out quite

0:23:23 > 0:23:26a lot of money getting new English clothes for his family.

0:23:26 > 0:23:28What would they have been like?

0:23:28 > 0:23:31Well, English fashion at this time looked very different.

0:23:31 > 0:23:34As we can see over here, this is a very small version

0:23:34 > 0:23:38that we've got that might have fit a young Wolfgang.

0:23:38 > 0:23:41And it was much less decorative.

0:23:41 > 0:23:44And crucially, it's made of wool.

0:23:44 > 0:23:47Now, it's a lot more practical than silk.

0:23:47 > 0:23:52You can go riding in this, walking, hunting.

0:23:52 > 0:23:56It really reflects the idea of the country estates.

0:23:56 > 0:23:59So, whereas in France you have this very formal court culture built up

0:23:59 > 0:24:04around Versailles, in Britain, it's much more about spending time at

0:24:04 > 0:24:08your country estate and the outdoor pursuits that go along with that.

0:24:08 > 0:24:11You're not telling me that's a pared-down hat, though, are you?

0:24:11 > 0:24:13No, it is quite excessive!

0:24:13 > 0:24:17Leopold does actually write from London that no woman leaves

0:24:17 > 0:24:20the house without wearing a hat, and he talks about the sort

0:24:20 > 0:24:24of real variation in shapes and styles and fabrics.

0:24:24 > 0:24:27Millinery is a really important feature of fashion at this time,

0:24:27 > 0:24:32so where the dress styles themselves may be a bit more pared down...

0:24:32 > 0:24:36- You could go to town on the hat! - Exactly! Exactly, yeah!

0:24:39 > 0:24:45Wolfgang was now happy to walk the streets in his smart woollen coat.

0:24:45 > 0:24:48But he wasn't quite safe from embarrassment, cringing

0:24:48 > 0:24:53at his mother's spirited attempts to embrace the ways of the English.

0:24:55 > 0:24:59Mrs Anna Maria Mozart tried to fit in with her English gown

0:24:59 > 0:25:01and her crazy English hat.

0:25:01 > 0:25:05But there was just one little detail of Englishness which she

0:25:05 > 0:25:08could never get a taste for.

0:25:08 > 0:25:10Try as she might,

0:25:10 > 0:25:13she could not enjoy the local drink - beer.

0:25:19 > 0:25:21I don't really like beer either.

0:25:26 > 0:25:30It was now high time that little Wolfgang was launched onto

0:25:30 > 0:25:32the lucrative London stage.

0:25:34 > 0:25:38Public concerts were held almost every night in theatres and salons.

0:25:41 > 0:25:43Leopold hoped that the Mozart children

0:25:43 > 0:25:45would be able to make a fortune.

0:25:49 > 0:25:51But it soon became clear that the concerts were

0:25:51 > 0:25:55run by a network of powerful impresarios.

0:25:58 > 0:26:01They were the kingmakers of the music scene.

0:26:01 > 0:26:06And in 1764, they'd already anointed their superstar of the season...

0:26:11 > 0:26:12APPLAUSE

0:26:12 > 0:26:17His angelic voice had made all of London swoon and he'd helped to

0:26:17 > 0:26:22revive Italian opera, making it the most fashionable music of the day.

0:26:26 > 0:26:32He was the great castrato singer Giovanni Manzoli.

0:26:48 > 0:26:50Wolfgang and his father went along to see him

0:26:50 > 0:26:54star in the opera Adriano In Siria,

0:26:54 > 0:26:58and opera singer Randall Scotting knows exactly what

0:26:58 > 0:27:00they would have witnessed.

0:27:02 > 0:27:06Apparently, he had quite a beautiful, sweet voice.

0:27:06 > 0:27:08It was defined as clear and brilliant

0:27:08 > 0:27:11but the thing that really struck the audience was how

0:27:11 > 0:27:15loud his voice was - it was often described as voluminous.

0:27:20 > 0:27:25So we have Manzoli, the smooth Italian superstar...

0:27:25 > 0:27:26He hoovers up all the money

0:27:26 > 0:27:29and the success of the season, really, doesn't he?

0:27:29 > 0:27:32That's true, and I think Leopold Mozart found it a bit more difficult

0:27:32 > 0:27:34than he expected when he came to London.

0:27:34 > 0:27:36He writes a letter to his friend

0:27:36 > 0:27:40and says that Manzoli is the only person who is actually making

0:27:40 > 0:27:44any money this season, and his fee for the season was £1,500,

0:27:44 > 0:27:48which at the time was an exorbitant sum.

0:27:48 > 0:27:50To put it into context,

0:27:50 > 0:27:54a maid in London would have made £6 per year.

0:27:58 > 0:28:02While Leopold saw Manzoli as a dangerous rival,

0:28:02 > 0:28:04Wolfgang was entranced,

0:28:04 > 0:28:07and he pestered his father to see the great singer

0:28:07 > 0:28:09whenever the chance arose.

0:28:10 > 0:28:13And Manzoli too became intrigued by the Prodigy.

0:28:15 > 0:28:17They became great friends, apparently,

0:28:17 > 0:28:19the admiration was very mutual.

0:28:19 > 0:28:22I think Mozart saw Manzoli on stage

0:28:22 > 0:28:26and was quite taken with his presentation, but Manzoli,

0:28:26 > 0:28:29likewise, was quite interested in the young prodigy Mozart

0:28:29 > 0:28:32and he offered him voice lessons and became a friend of the family

0:28:32 > 0:28:34while the Mozarts were in London.

0:28:34 > 0:28:38That's a friendship that continued to thrive.

0:28:38 > 0:28:43To become friends with a superstar like Manzoli had a profound

0:28:43 > 0:28:45influence on the young Mozart.

0:28:45 > 0:28:48As he became tutored in the intricacies of writing

0:28:48 > 0:28:51for the voice, Wolfgang would later cast

0:28:51 > 0:28:57Manzoli as the lead in one of his earliest operas - Ascanio In Alba.

0:29:00 > 0:29:03APPLAUSE

0:29:06 > 0:29:11But as the applause rang around his ears, Leopold Mozart was sure

0:29:11 > 0:29:15that his son could rival Manzoli for success on the London stage.

0:29:17 > 0:29:21But to do it, he knew that he'd have to return to advertising

0:29:21 > 0:29:22and marketing.

0:29:26 > 0:29:29Mm, Mozart chocolate cream.

0:29:31 > 0:29:34If you go to Salzburg today, you can

0:29:34 > 0:29:39pick up all sorts of Mozart memorabilia, like this pencil.

0:29:39 > 0:29:44Or...Nannerl liqueur. Mm!

0:29:44 > 0:29:50And I think this is my favourite - a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart snow globe.

0:29:50 > 0:29:54Now, you might think that this merchandising is a modern idea -

0:29:54 > 0:29:55it isn't.

0:29:55 > 0:29:59When Leopold arrived in the very commercial world of Georgian London,

0:29:59 > 0:30:03he had to use every trick he could to create hype for his family.

0:30:03 > 0:30:05He, too, produced merchandising.

0:30:05 > 0:30:11You could buy a souvenir print showing them as a harmonious group.

0:30:11 > 0:30:13Here's Leopold on his violin,

0:30:13 > 0:30:16Wolfgang on the harpsichord,

0:30:16 > 0:30:18and Nannerl the singer.

0:30:18 > 0:30:22Leopold also placed adverts in the papers.

0:30:22 > 0:30:26Here's one announcing a concert at the Great Room in Spring Garden

0:30:26 > 0:30:30near St James's Park, and Leopold does write good copy.

0:30:30 > 0:30:34The concert's to be for the benefit of Miss Mozart of 11

0:30:34 > 0:30:39and Master Mozart of seven years of age, prodigies of nature.

0:30:39 > 0:30:42So Leopold is using every trick in the book to try to create

0:30:42 > 0:30:45a buzz about these performances.

0:30:45 > 0:30:50But I do detect old Leopold in getting a bit carried away here,

0:30:50 > 0:30:54because Master Mozart was no longer, technically speaking,

0:30:54 > 0:30:56a child of seven years of age.

0:30:56 > 0:31:01By this point, he was a slightly less impressive child of eight.

0:31:05 > 0:31:08True to his billing, little Wolfgang didn't disappoint.

0:31:09 > 0:31:12His first public concert was a resounding success,

0:31:12 > 0:31:14pulling in 100 guineas.

0:31:17 > 0:31:20It seemed that his conquest of London was well underway.

0:31:22 > 0:31:26But the city would not be conquered that easily.

0:31:33 > 0:31:36It was during a rush to get ready for a performance that

0:31:36 > 0:31:41Wolfgang saw his father fall suddenly, desperately ill.

0:31:47 > 0:31:52A simple chill had developed into an alarming case of flu...

0:31:53 > 0:31:57..and Leopold became convinced that he was at death's door.

0:31:58 > 0:32:03For an eight-year-old boy and his family far from home,

0:32:03 > 0:32:06this must have been a terrifying turn of events.

0:32:09 > 0:32:13Leopold's illness was a disaster for the family.

0:32:13 > 0:32:16Without him, they couldn't organise concerts to earn money, and

0:32:16 > 0:32:21they couldn't take Wolfgang about to continue his musical education.

0:32:21 > 0:32:25But much worse than that was the risk that Leopold might

0:32:25 > 0:32:29actually die, leaving them stranded in London.

0:32:33 > 0:32:37Despite the morbid atmosphere that had settled onto the house,

0:32:37 > 0:32:39little Wolfgang kept himself busy.

0:32:41 > 0:32:43And he would turn this disaster

0:32:43 > 0:32:47into the triumphal moment of his early musical life.

0:32:50 > 0:32:54With Leopold marooned in bed, Wolfgang had a tiny

0:32:54 > 0:32:58taste of freedom from his father's controlling presence.

0:32:58 > 0:33:01He couldn't perform in concerts, he couldn't even practise,

0:33:01 > 0:33:05because the noise would disturb the sick man.

0:33:05 > 0:33:08So, instead, Wolfgang started writing music down,

0:33:08 > 0:33:12and I don't mean short little pieces, like he'd done before -

0:33:12 > 0:33:16he now wrote his first full-length symphony.

0:33:20 > 0:33:25The symphony was the most daunting challenge for any composer,

0:33:25 > 0:33:27let alone an eight-year-old boy!

0:33:29 > 0:33:33Blending together multiple instruments and sustaining the

0:33:33 > 0:33:38magic over three movements, it was a supreme test of skill and invention.

0:33:39 > 0:33:42But with the music he'd heard in London still marching

0:33:42 > 0:33:46through his mind, Wolfgang picked up his pen and paper.

0:33:48 > 0:33:54Conductor Ian Page understands little Mozart's amazing achievement.

0:33:55 > 0:33:59Ian, here's a facsimile of what Wolfgang actually wrote.

0:33:59 > 0:34:00How does it strike you?

0:34:00 > 0:34:03Does it look like the work of an eight-year-old to you?

0:34:03 > 0:34:04I find it really beautiful.

0:34:04 > 0:34:07I mean, no, you wouldn't know that that was by an eight-year-old,

0:34:07 > 0:34:11would you? I mean, the writing... is really interesting.

0:34:11 > 0:34:13There are bits of crossings out,

0:34:13 > 0:34:15it's playful as an eight-year-old would be.

0:34:15 > 0:34:18He slipped into Italian,

0:34:18 > 0:34:21he calls himself "Signor Wolfgang a London".

0:34:21 > 0:34:25You know, he knows the odd word of Italian!

0:34:25 > 0:34:27He knows that it's the language of music.

0:34:27 > 0:34:29And then as soon as he starts writing out the notes,

0:34:29 > 0:34:32not a blemish, which is really amazing.

0:34:32 > 0:34:35When you look at the melody and the way he's harmonised it,

0:34:35 > 0:34:38do you see the influence of Georgian London there?

0:34:39 > 0:34:43On one level, yes, and on another level, not at all.

0:34:43 > 0:34:44It's sort of unique to Mozart.

0:34:44 > 0:34:47I think that's what's so interesting about this piece

0:34:47 > 0:34:50and the whole of his time in London.

0:34:50 > 0:34:53On one hand, these opening three bars...

0:35:03 > 0:35:05..they could absolutely be by JC Bach

0:35:05 > 0:35:08or any of the composers writing in London.

0:35:08 > 0:35:09It's a sort of call to attention.

0:35:13 > 0:35:17And Mozart, later in life, would often write similar openings.

0:35:20 > 0:35:21Or...

0:35:23 > 0:35:26And of course we need to remember that, in those days,

0:35:26 > 0:35:30they didn't have electricity, so it needed a device to get

0:35:30 > 0:35:33- the audience to shut up and stop talking.- Oh, right, OK!

0:35:33 > 0:35:35So pieces would open with a fanfare,

0:35:35 > 0:35:37partly as a mechanism to get attention,

0:35:37 > 0:35:40because there wasn't the thing of house lights suddenly going down.

0:35:40 > 0:35:43When we get onto this next bit, it seems to me like these

0:35:43 > 0:35:47- are really clever, sophisticated chords, is that right?- Completely.

0:35:47 > 0:35:50Basically, we've got a series of chords, there's not really any tune.

0:36:01 > 0:36:03And just to give a sense of momentum,

0:36:03 > 0:36:05he takes the baseline away from the downbeat.

0:36:09 > 0:36:13So, suddenly, there's more momentum and direction.

0:36:21 > 0:36:26But then, for me, the thing that makes it totally unique to Mozart

0:36:26 > 0:36:27is quite big discords.

0:36:30 > 0:36:32- So...- Yeah. That's...weird.

0:36:36 > 0:36:37So...

0:36:37 > 0:36:39You just have a sense of someone

0:36:39 > 0:36:42seeing how far he can push things

0:36:42 > 0:36:44before his dad says, "No, you're not allowed to do that."

0:36:44 > 0:36:47And maybe this would have been less good

0:36:47 > 0:36:48if his dad had been downstairs, too.

0:36:48 > 0:36:52Maybe there's something quite nice about the fact that Dad was...

0:36:52 > 0:36:54- Out of the way.- ..off-limits.- Yeah.

0:36:57 > 0:36:59What's it like for a whole orchestra to be playing this?

0:36:59 > 0:37:04- Is it technically easy or difficult? - Bits are...

0:37:04 > 0:37:07Particularly in the last movement, the third movement,

0:37:07 > 0:37:10there are bits of second violin writing that are really difficult,

0:37:10 > 0:37:12so there are things like...

0:37:15 > 0:37:17And it's sort of fussy for them.

0:37:23 > 0:37:25So, in later life, he wouldn't have done that.

0:37:25 > 0:37:27He would have found a more...

0:37:27 > 0:37:30I mean, I think there's something... From a performer point of view,

0:37:30 > 0:37:34if music's really difficult, you want it to sound difficult.

0:37:34 > 0:37:37Something like this is more difficult to play than it sounds.

0:37:37 > 0:37:41Whereas the virtuoso school of writing something that

0:37:41 > 0:37:46sounds fiendishly difficult is much more satisfying for the performer,

0:37:46 > 0:37:49because people say, "Ooh! That was clever."

0:37:49 > 0:37:52- Just before we finish, could we play that really lovely bit again?- Yeah.

0:37:56 > 0:37:57PLAYS WRONG NOTE

0:37:57 > 0:38:00- Oh!- Ew!- That was my fault.

0:38:00 > 0:38:02That's TOO discordant!

0:38:05 > 0:38:08THEY PLAY TOGETHER

0:38:21 > 0:38:23It's beautiful.

0:38:25 > 0:38:28Now recovered, Leopold set to work,

0:38:28 > 0:38:32sure that his eight-year-old composer would finally

0:38:32 > 0:38:34conquer London.

0:38:36 > 0:38:39Working into the night, Leopold struck deals.

0:38:39 > 0:38:45He sweet-talked musicians and he spread the hype, pulling together

0:38:45 > 0:38:50the pieces of an irresistible event that nobody could afford to miss.

0:38:52 > 0:38:55Finally, a date was set.

0:38:55 > 0:38:59It was to be on 21st February 1765,

0:38:59 > 0:39:01at the Haymarket Theatre,

0:39:01 > 0:39:07that Wolfgang's first symphony would be unveiled to the world.

0:39:11 > 0:39:14MUSIC: Symphony No.1 by Mozart

0:39:30 > 0:39:34The call to attention sounded out, and the music filled the hall.

0:39:39 > 0:39:42The layout of the orchestra, with its strings and woodwind

0:39:42 > 0:39:45and brass sections, was typical of London.

0:39:48 > 0:39:53Already, we can hear Mozart's trademark sounds coming through.

0:40:07 > 0:40:10Using period instruments, these performers bring

0:40:10 > 0:40:14the vibrancy of Wolfgang's original composition to life.

0:40:25 > 0:40:29Hannah Templeton knows what the audience would have witnessed.

0:40:31 > 0:40:34Did Wolfgang conduct his own first symphony?

0:40:34 > 0:40:37Well, there wasn't a conductor who would stand in the middle,

0:40:37 > 0:40:40as we normally have today.

0:40:40 > 0:40:42There was a concertmaster,

0:40:42 > 0:40:44who was the first violinist,

0:40:44 > 0:40:46and he would have led the orchestra in

0:40:46 > 0:40:49and maybe directed specific entries.

0:40:49 > 0:40:52If there were maybe some untidy moments,

0:40:52 > 0:40:56then he might have stepped in to give a little bit more direction.

0:40:56 > 0:41:00As for what Mozart did, he may have been playing the harpsichord.

0:41:02 > 0:41:05If he did have a role in directing his own symphony,

0:41:05 > 0:41:08then he might have been up front with the concertmaster.

0:41:08 > 0:41:11I love the idea that there could have been this eight-year-old

0:41:11 > 0:41:13going, "And now you, and now YOU!"

0:41:13 > 0:41:14THEY LAUGH

0:41:43 > 0:41:47As the audience were led into the slow second movement,

0:41:47 > 0:41:51they would have marvelled at the prodigy's deft arrangement

0:41:51 > 0:41:54and the beautiful chords played by the horns.

0:42:36 > 0:42:40But strange as it may seem, it may have been quite difficult to

0:42:40 > 0:42:45appreciate Mozart's music at the time, because by today's standards,

0:42:45 > 0:42:48the audience got up to some rather shocking things.

0:42:51 > 0:42:55They would chat, even when the music was playing, not just in between

0:42:55 > 0:43:00movements, so there might have been a constant murmur of chatting.

0:43:00 > 0:43:03If they saw somebody else that they wanted to go and talk to,

0:43:03 > 0:43:07then they might have got up and walked over to them.

0:43:07 > 0:43:09So you would have had people walking around, they would

0:43:09 > 0:43:11have had refreshments.

0:43:11 > 0:43:14It's astonishing to think then, that during Mozart's

0:43:14 > 0:43:16first symphony ever, people might have just been talking.

0:43:16 > 0:43:19It's really hard for us to imagine now, isn't it?

0:43:19 > 0:43:21If you so much as rustle a programme,

0:43:21 > 0:43:24then you get a frown from the person next to you.

0:43:50 > 0:43:52At just over ten minutes,

0:43:52 > 0:43:55the symphony form was much shorter than we'd expect today.

0:43:58 > 0:44:02But as the third and final movement came to a close,

0:44:02 > 0:44:04Leopold was in for a shock.

0:44:06 > 0:44:08All around him were empty seats.

0:44:11 > 0:44:12Hmm.

0:44:12 > 0:44:16Despite the big build-up to this night, it's possible that

0:44:16 > 0:44:20Leopold was left a little disappointed by his concert.

0:44:20 > 0:44:23He'd done everything he could to make it a success.

0:44:23 > 0:44:25This had been his big chance

0:44:25 > 0:44:28to introduce a new composer to the world.

0:44:28 > 0:44:32And he wanted to get what he called "a good catch of guineas".

0:44:32 > 0:44:36And yet, only 260 people turned up

0:44:36 > 0:44:39to a venue which we believe

0:44:39 > 0:44:41held around 800.

0:44:42 > 0:44:44Perhaps this was the point at which

0:44:44 > 0:44:48Leopold started to believe that dark forces were

0:44:48 > 0:44:51working against the Mozart family.

0:44:55 > 0:44:58The adulation they'd hoped would follow Wolfgang's

0:44:58 > 0:45:02extraordinary musical breakthrough never quite materialised.

0:45:03 > 0:45:08And it was now that Leopold became gripped with paranoia.

0:45:09 > 0:45:12He had good reason.

0:45:12 > 0:45:15In the months following the performance, vicious rumours

0:45:15 > 0:45:22began to appear in the inky world of pamphleteers and gossip columnists.

0:45:22 > 0:45:24(Malice...)

0:45:24 > 0:45:28This gossip attacked the entire Mozart family.

0:45:29 > 0:45:33There were stories of deception and daylight robbery.

0:45:34 > 0:45:38The accusation was that Wolfgang wasn't quite so young as his father

0:45:38 > 0:45:43said that he was. It was claimed that he was really

0:45:43 > 0:45:45just a very small man of 30.

0:45:46 > 0:45:52Leopold now had no choice but to enter a war of words.

0:45:56 > 0:45:58This is a copy of a letter

0:45:58 > 0:46:03that appeared in the Public Advertiser in May 1765.

0:46:03 > 0:46:06This could be Leopold's writing, it could be a friend of his,

0:46:06 > 0:46:08it's unsigned.

0:46:08 > 0:46:12But this is basically a fightback in behalf of the Mozart family

0:46:12 > 0:46:17against these malevolent remarks that have been circulating.

0:46:17 > 0:46:21People have been saying that Wolfgang is not in fact

0:46:21 > 0:46:26a child of eight years old, but that he's really a teeny-tiny man

0:46:26 > 0:46:32reduced by some defect of nature to an insignificancy of person.

0:46:35 > 0:46:38It appears that little Wolfgang had become

0:46:38 > 0:46:42the victim of jealousy in the musical world.

0:46:44 > 0:46:49Someone, somewhere, it seemed, wanted him out of London's West End.

0:46:56 > 0:47:00Leopold's letters home reveal his changed attitude towards

0:47:00 > 0:47:02the city that had once promised so much.

0:47:04 > 0:47:09"London," he writes, "is a dangerous place, where the inhabitants

0:47:09 > 0:47:13"have no religion, and it's filled with evil."

0:47:18 > 0:47:20Simon McVeigh is a music historian

0:47:20 > 0:47:23who understands Leopold's state of mind.

0:47:25 > 0:47:28Something clearly went awry

0:47:28 > 0:47:30because he starts to complain

0:47:30 > 0:47:34in some of his other references, other letters,

0:47:34 > 0:47:36that he wasn't getting the support

0:47:36 > 0:47:39that he used to and that he was expecting.

0:47:39 > 0:47:45So he started to lose touch in some way and you get a certain sense that

0:47:45 > 0:47:51their time in London was unravelling as the months went past in 1765.

0:47:51 > 0:47:54He writes as if "there are dark forces

0:47:54 > 0:47:58- "working against me", almost, doesn't he?- Yes, he does.

0:47:58 > 0:48:00Um, I mean...

0:48:00 > 0:48:02he was somewhat inclined

0:48:02 > 0:48:06towards conspiracy theories like this.

0:48:09 > 0:48:12Determined to rescue the good name of the Mozart family,

0:48:12 > 0:48:14he hatched a plan,

0:48:14 > 0:48:20inviting the London public to test Wolfgang's skill for themselves.

0:48:21 > 0:48:24Adverts started to appear in the press.

0:48:24 > 0:48:26They'd been placed by Leopold,

0:48:26 > 0:48:30who now threw down the gauntlet to the London public.

0:48:30 > 0:48:34He challenged allcomers to visit the Mozarts at their home

0:48:34 > 0:48:38in the West End to see young Wolfgang for themselves.

0:48:38 > 0:48:42If you came, you were able to test the boy,

0:48:42 > 0:48:46you could try his musical capacity by giving him anything to play

0:48:46 > 0:48:52at sight, or test his notation skills - you could sing a tune,

0:48:52 > 0:48:55which he will write upon the spot

0:48:55 > 0:48:58without recurring to his harpsichord.

0:48:58 > 0:49:00LM.

0:49:00 > 0:49:03Leopold Mozart.

0:49:05 > 0:49:09We don't know how many strange people came knocking at the door

0:49:09 > 0:49:10to take up this offer,

0:49:10 > 0:49:14but little Wolfgang must surely have noticed one man who seemed

0:49:14 > 0:49:18extra specially interested in what he could do.

0:49:20 > 0:49:24Daines Barrington considered himself to be one of life's true

0:49:24 > 0:49:30Renaissance men and spent his life in constant pursuit of obscure

0:49:30 > 0:49:33fields of study he could make his own.

0:49:35 > 0:49:40Mr Daines Barrington was a man of wide and rather peculiar interests.

0:49:40 > 0:49:43He researched the possibility of travelling to the

0:49:43 > 0:49:46North Pole - from the comfort of his own study.

0:49:46 > 0:49:48He claimed to have discovered the last surviving

0:49:48 > 0:49:51speaker of the Cornish language -

0:49:51 > 0:49:54until several others came forward!

0:49:54 > 0:49:58And he spent several years conversing with birds in order

0:49:58 > 0:50:01to write a book about their language.

0:50:01 > 0:50:04Although, as we know, birds can't speak.

0:50:04 > 0:50:06"Hello, Mr Barrington."

0:50:09 > 0:50:12When he heard of the rumours surrounding Wolfgang,

0:50:12 > 0:50:13it fired his imagination.

0:50:15 > 0:50:19He aimed to subject the boy to scientific testing that would

0:50:19 > 0:50:24sort fact from fiction, and settle the matter once and for all.

0:50:25 > 0:50:29Yvonne Amthor is a historian of science.

0:50:29 > 0:50:32She's going to subject me to the very same tests

0:50:32 > 0:50:34as Barrington set little Wolfgang.

0:50:36 > 0:50:39Leopold very specifically in his advertisements addressed

0:50:39 > 0:50:42- the lovers of science.- Yes.

0:50:42 > 0:50:45And Daines Barrington would have seen himself as such

0:50:45 > 0:50:49and therefore was very much attracted - wanting to

0:50:49 > 0:50:52observe the boy, wanting to see his musical abilities.

0:50:52 > 0:50:54What were these tests, then,

0:50:54 > 0:50:56that Daines Barrington administered?

0:50:56 > 0:51:00Well, I'm going to ask you to try a couple of them.

0:51:00 > 0:51:04We know for sure about two tests, because he's described them

0:51:04 > 0:51:06quite well in his notes,

0:51:06 > 0:51:09and he actually asked Mozart to play

0:51:09 > 0:51:13by sight-reading a five-part piece.

0:51:13 > 0:51:15Now, we haven't got that here,

0:51:15 > 0:51:19- so I'm going to ask you to sight-read...- OK.

0:51:19 > 0:51:23..and play a sonatina instead.

0:51:23 > 0:51:25A sonatina, OK.

0:51:27 > 0:51:30Oh, dear, it's in two sharps!

0:51:34 > 0:51:39Unlike me, Wolfgang made short work of this sight-reading test.

0:51:39 > 0:51:43But now Barrington turned his attention to the great controversy -

0:51:43 > 0:51:47Wolfgang's supposed ability to compose.

0:51:47 > 0:51:50- Does it get worse than this? - It actually does.

0:51:50 > 0:51:54One of the tests that Daines Barrington actually asked

0:51:54 > 0:51:57Mozart is to make up a love song

0:51:57 > 0:52:01in the style of an operatic tune.

0:52:01 > 0:52:04A love song in the style of an operatic tune?

0:52:04 > 0:52:07- Made up on the spot? - Made up on the spot.- OK.

0:52:09 > 0:52:11# Here it is!

0:52:12 > 0:52:16# My song, a song of love... # YVONNE LAUGHS

0:52:18 > 0:52:20# ..Is going wrong... #

0:52:20 > 0:52:22She's laughing at my song of love!

0:52:24 > 0:52:27I think you can easily turn that into a song of rage now!

0:52:28 > 0:52:33- A song of rage?- That would have been his second task.

0:52:33 > 0:52:35SHE WAILS

0:52:37 > 0:52:40- Sorry!- IN A DEEP VOICE: # Rage! #

0:52:41 > 0:52:43Yes, he would have very much made up

0:52:43 > 0:52:47any kind of nonsense or words just to express those feelings.

0:52:50 > 0:52:54The test came to an end when Wolfgang lost interest

0:52:54 > 0:52:56and went to play with his hobbyhorse.

0:52:57 > 0:53:00In his report to the Royal Society,

0:53:00 > 0:53:04Barrington said that Mozart was not a fake.

0:53:04 > 0:53:09He wrote that the boy's genius and invention was most astonishing.

0:53:09 > 0:53:13Such a report would have restored the Mozarts' credibility

0:53:13 > 0:53:17had it not taken Barrington THREE YEARS to publish.

0:53:20 > 0:53:23It was now clear that the Mozarts could no longer afford

0:53:23 > 0:53:26to keep trying to win over the London public,

0:53:26 > 0:53:30and as they scraped together the funds they needed to leave,

0:53:30 > 0:53:36Wolfgang was booked to play a final series of concerts.

0:53:37 > 0:53:41RECORDING PLAYS

0:53:43 > 0:53:49In July 1765, little Wolfgang took to the keyboard to play

0:53:49 > 0:53:51not for a king, not for a queen,

0:53:51 > 0:53:54a lord or his lady,

0:53:54 > 0:53:58but for bleary-eyed drunks in a London pub.

0:54:03 > 0:54:07They started putting on performances at the Swan and Hoop tavern

0:54:07 > 0:54:09in the City, the other end of town

0:54:09 > 0:54:12from the fashionable West End.

0:54:16 > 0:54:21In this bewildering world, Wolfgang played daily from 12 till three...

0:54:22 > 0:54:26..churning out keyboard tricks to the tune of a couple of shillings.

0:54:30 > 0:54:31There's no doubt about it,

0:54:31 > 0:54:37this was just off the radar as far as normal events were concerned.

0:54:37 > 0:54:41This wasn't the kind of venue that the elite musicians would

0:54:41 > 0:54:46frequent for their musical adventures. This was something else.

0:54:46 > 0:54:50So he's sucking out the pips of London, really, it's the last dregs.

0:54:50 > 0:54:53Yes, it was at the low end

0:54:53 > 0:54:56of music-making in London's musical calendar,

0:54:56 > 0:54:58there's no doubt about that.

0:55:00 > 0:55:02Once feted by royalty,

0:55:02 > 0:55:06the boy who would become the world's greatest composer ended

0:55:06 > 0:55:10his stay in London by providing the soundtrack to a boozy lunch.

0:55:12 > 0:55:14But looking back,

0:55:14 > 0:55:18I do think that London gave young Wolfgang a host of experiences

0:55:18 > 0:55:22that inspired and influenced his later glittering career.

0:55:24 > 0:55:27Firstly, he'd seen perseverance in action -

0:55:27 > 0:55:31he'd watched his father working really hard to get some

0:55:31 > 0:55:36traction for the Mozart family in a cut-throat musical environment.

0:55:36 > 0:55:42Secondly, London had made Wolfgang into an ambitious composer.

0:55:42 > 0:55:46He'd arrived as a performer, but he left as somebody

0:55:46 > 0:55:49capable of making music from scratch - that happened here.

0:55:51 > 0:55:54And finally, and perhaps most importantly,

0:55:54 > 0:55:58I like to think that this pub performance taught Wolfgang

0:55:58 > 0:56:02something essential - that his music

0:56:02 > 0:56:07had to appeal to everybody, from kings...to boozers.

0:56:14 > 0:56:16On 24th July 1765,

0:56:16 > 0:56:20the Mozart family left London never to return.

0:56:22 > 0:56:26But before departing, they made time for some sightseeing.

0:56:28 > 0:56:30On a trip to the Royal Menagerie,

0:56:30 > 0:56:35little Wolfgang got frightened by the roar of the lions.

0:56:35 > 0:56:39But the highlight was a special tour around the newly opened

0:56:39 > 0:56:43British Museum, where children normally weren't allowed.

0:56:46 > 0:56:49And as if in thanks, little Mozart left the museum a gift,

0:56:49 > 0:56:52a gift to the nation, if you like.

0:56:52 > 0:56:55It was the manuscript of a short choral work

0:56:55 > 0:56:57rarely performed these days,

0:56:57 > 0:57:00but he wrote it specially for us.

0:57:02 > 0:57:06Uniquely, among all of Wolfgang Mozart's work,

0:57:06 > 0:57:08the words are in English.

0:57:08 > 0:57:11It says on it "1765 in London".

0:57:12 > 0:57:16When you look at the words, I think that they are appropriate

0:57:16 > 0:57:20for the Mozart family's quite troubled time in London.

0:57:20 > 0:57:23"God is our refuge..." they go.

0:57:23 > 0:57:26"He's a very present help in trouble."

0:57:34 > 0:57:36But although it's a sad song,

0:57:36 > 0:57:40it remains a beautiful little gift to the British people

0:57:40 > 0:57:46and an eloquent reminder of that pivotal year that he spent with us.

0:57:48 > 0:57:53And when Wolfgang grew up and looks back on his time in London, he

0:57:53 > 0:57:57didn't seem to remember the trouble of it, he remembered the joy.

0:57:57 > 0:58:04He claimed in later life that he was a dyed-in-the-wool Englishman.